The ministers of the Atlantic African States, convened last Friday in New York, decided to hold their next ministerial meeting in Rabat during the first quarter of 2023.
In a statement adopted at the end of a meeting chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, the ministers reaffirmed their common political will, as expressed in the Rabat Declaration of June 8, to make the Atlantic African space an area of peace, stability and shared prosperity.
They also welcomed the establishment of the Permanent Secretariat of the process, based in Rabat, in charge of the implementation of the decisions of the African Atlantic States, stressing the importance of defining "Focal Points" to facilitate the work of consultation and coordination and to prepare joint decisions through a consensus and consultation approach.
The ministers have, in this context, invited the Permanent Secretariat and the "Focal Points" to continue the coordination and consultation work for the finalization of the Action Program in view of its presentation for validation at the next ministerial meeting.
The statement also stressed the importance of the participation of the African Atlantic States in the work of the three thematic groups created under the Rabat Declaration relating to political and security dialogue; blue economy, maritime connectivity and energy; and sustainable development and the environment.
In this regard, they thanked Nigeria, Cape Verde and Gabon for having assumed the role of leaders of the three thematic groups respectively.
The Ministers of the African Atlantic States emphasized the principle of establishing a progressive, collective and mutually supportive partnership between the African Atlantic States, with the ultimate aim of deepening the ties of cooperation and integration in the African Atlantic area as well as in the entire South Atlantic region.
They also welcomed the steps taken to structure this partnership, notably through the drafting of the Action Plan of the process responsible for defining strategic priorities and guiding the collective actions of the Atlantic African States to meet common challenges and identify cooperation opportunities.
The Ministers noted the need to revitalize this partnership through concrete cooperation actions and initiatives that will benefit stability and co-development in the Atlantic African space, as well as the importance of disseminating the vision, objectives and opportunities of the Atlantic African Partnership to both national actors in the countries of the region and to international actors.
They also agreed to hold two ministerial meetings per year, one of which will be held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly sessions in New York.
